Hitachi NT65MA3 15 Gauge Angled Finish Nailer
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br /- Third generation of this tool; everything works well.
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br /- Fires in one of two ways; select via a control knob:
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br / ... Single Actuation: press the nose against the wood pull the trigger to drive the nail, or, pull the trigger first, then press nose against the wood to drive the nail. Either way, nailing again isn't possible until the trigger is released and pulled again.
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br / ... Contact Actuation: in addition to the above, if the trigger is held back, the tool will fire a nail each time the nose is pressed against the wood.
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br /- Nicely balanced and comfortable to use. Weighs only 4.2 lbs., within a few ounces of the lightest nailer.
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br /- The 34 degree tool angle is better than 24 degree nailers; easier to do corners.
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br /- Simple to load nails. Feed into the slot and slide the spring-loaded pusher to the right. Holds two 100-nail "clips", and they are fully visible, so you know when you're near empty.
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br /- Adjustable air deflector so the discharge won't blow in your face.
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br /- In case of a jam (e.g., you hit a screw); simply unsnap a lock and the front end opens.
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br /- Easy turn dial moves the nose-piece in/out to adjust drive depth.
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br /- Factory installed air fitting is a nice feature.
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br /- No-mar nose piece is tough enough to last and actually prevents wood marring.
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br /- Duster button: makes the tool an air gun; or use to drain the air before decoupling the hose.
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br /- Good blow-molded tool case with space for a 1,000 nail pack.
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br /- 5-year factor warranty demonstrates Hitachi's confidence.
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br /- More powerful than my Bostitch 15-gauge angled nailer.
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br /- Big nailers are loud. Wear hearing protectors.
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br /Can't see how you could go wrong with this angled nailer. Clearly a 5-star tool.

This finish nailer is the only one I have ever used so I don't have a lot of comparison experience. With that being said, I was very impressed with this nail gun. The first thing I noticed was that the air adapter was included and installed at an angle. Many guns do not provide one and they are typically straight. The angled air adapter made this gun more comfortable to use. This gun was heavy enough to absorb the recoil but very well balanced so it was not tiring to use. I ran this gun off of a 2 gallon Delta air compressor. This is one of the smallest compressors available and the gun never misfired and had more than enough power to sink the 2 in finishing nails I was using. When I was learning to use the gun the nails were being countersunk into pressure treated lumber. The depth setting is easy to use and it is tooless. After adjusting the depth, the nail was driven very consistently and flush every time. This gun came with a no-mar tip and a place to store it on the side of the magazine, safety glasses, and a nice case. If you ever did experience a jam it does have a convenient tooless jam clearing method as well. I would recommend this gun to anyone.

The other reviews have done a good job describing this nailer, so I'll just at my $0.02:
br /I have several Porter Cable nailers, which are fine. This nailer is far superior. It is so light that I thought the case was empty when I opened the box. There is almost no recoil despite the size of the 15 gauge, 2.5" nails I'm using. The option of firing multiple nails on one trigger pull is nice, but I don't think I'd use in much on a finish gun. The depth adjustment allows a great range of adjustment, important on a finish nail gun.
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br /I've been using this gun with stainless steel nails on some redwood projects in the yard, and am extremely satisfied with it. The previous model of this gun, which I think is virtually identical, received excellent reviews as well. I can't imagine you'd be disappointed with this nailer. I'll steer towards Hitachi nailers in the future- this one is very impressive.

Our company uses finish nailers daily and we use them in all species of woods including Oak, Maple, Pine, Brazillian Cherry, Teak, and other very hard exotics. Our nailers get hard use so I look for the ones that will hold up long term. My previous favorite was the Dewalt 2 1/2 finish nailer (see my other reviews) which is a great finish nailer but I believe that some of the later Dewalt guns have been lacking in quality from the 1st release. I bought 2 of these Hitachi NT65MA3 finish nailers to try out and all of our crews have loved using them and I haven't had the 1st problem with them after 1 year. They set the nails consistently in dense hardwoods and have a great feel to them. I believe I may have found my new favorite finish nailer!
br /I might note that I have not tried the Milwaukee or Makita finsh nailer, but am comparing to the Bostich, Porter Cable, Senco, and Dewalt models.
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br /I love the fact that I can change modes with the flick of a switch from sequential to bump fire. My Dewalt, Senco and Porter Cable nailers all require that I change out the trigger assembly. The 2 options of fire are: 1) sequential mode - the nailer fires one shot when the safety tip mechanism is pressed against the wood you are nailing and the trigger is pulled and will only fire again when the safety tip mechanism has been depressed against the wood and the trigger is then pulled again. 2) bump mode - pull the trigger and hold it and the nailer fires every time you depress the safety tip mechanism into the wood you are nailing (as long as you hold in the trigger). I keep all of our nailers in this mode and do not feel it is a safety concern since firstly, the trigger must be pulled and secondly the safety tip mechanism must be depressed in the wood you are nailing before it will fire. There is an element of danger to most anything we do in life.

Not much more to add to the other reviews. This is an excellent device that does what it's intended to do. The huge advantage the Hitachi has over its competitors is simply the weight. At just over 4 pounds, it's nearly 1/2 the weight of its rivals and that's a big deal if you're 20 feet up on a ladder leaning and nailing like I was last week.
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br /Regarding one reviewers issue with the piercing sound the nail-gun makes when you pull the trigger, I don't experience that sensation. In fact, it's quieter than my Craftsman brad nailer.
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br /By the way, I found the nails at Home Depot to be cheaper than Lowes. I am disappointed that Hitachi would suggest to use on Hitachi nails in its gun. Their nails are more expensive that its competitors, however, upon close inspection of the product, it appears identical to their rivals like Porter Cable nails.

Great product 5yr warrenty on all parts great way to back up a product made to WORK, Looks like a lazer blaster from Starwars lol each time I take it out of the case on a job site and get looks of what is that? It works great easy to load feels great in your hand. If you are serious about finishing work BUY this product you will be rewarded many times over.

The nail guns were received promptly and they are a pleasure to use but in the discription a hex tool was suppose to be included with each gun and none were received.

I bought this nailer after reading a review of ten 15 ga. nailers at http://www.toolsofthetradeonline.net/industry-news.asp?sectionID=1491articleID=501396. Excellent article, he (obviously) liked the Hitachi best, though the review seemed fairly unbiased (he liked certain aspects of several other nailers better).
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br /I've used a DeWalt, Senco, and this one. Mind you, I'm not a pro, but for what it's worth, this one feels the best.

After returning a Porter Cable nailer because everyone and there brother seemed to have a sale on nailers, I decided to shop online.Amazon's price was $50.00 less than Lowes, and the reviews sold me. Still skeptical about not buying American, I took the plunge. Well worth taking the chance, the nailer is powerful,easy to load,angled,single shot or sequential, and it has the air bypass button which allows you to shoot a blast or prolonged stream of air out of the housing which I didn't think I'd ever use. Used it the first time out of the box, to blow dust out of a newly installed bathtub.Last but not least,it looks good.I have an Hitachi hammer drill/screw gun combo thats been dropped, and used very hard and is still kickin'.If this nailer holds up like the drill I'll be very satified.

OK This is a fairly nice nail gun. Nothing miraculous about making a decent finish nailer. First problem with this nailer is it comes in two firing modes, both of which are dangerous as h__l. If you can still walk around and inadvertently shoot someone if you have the trigger depressed, to me, that's dangerous. OK for pros in some settings. To switch to "full sequential actuation" will cost you $60 plus shipping. Seems like that should be the default configuration and then switch to rapid fire modes if you like.
br /The air nozzle is more gimmick than anything, fairly irritating when you hit the button by mistake. You're better of with a $5 spray nozzle.
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After placing my order for this item, and receiving an order comfimation number, Amazon informs me 24 hrs later that my order has been cancelled because they had advertised the wrong price. They just sent me a form e-mail and explained that they can do this because they have it in print SOMEWHERE that allows them to . That really stinks, because I entered into this agreement committing to purchase this product in good faith and they change the agreement after the purchase was made. This is about my only recourse. Maybe I'll try to buy one on the big online auction site instead. I tried to buy this nailer after reading the good reviews about it and consider it to be a top quality product.